Buckle



Jan. 27, 1942. E. TYHORESEN BUCKLE Filed Sept. 20, 19:59

INVENTOR Patented Jan. 27, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT oFslc 2,271,132 BUCKLE Einar Thoresen, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application September 20, 1939, Serial No. 295,776

1 Claim.

My invention relates to buckles, particularly to buckles for securing straps and belts used in or with wearing apparel, and consists in improvements in buckles of the sort that frictionally engage the end of the strap or belt to be secured.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. I is a vieW in plan of a buckle embodying the invention, the buckle being shown in .closed position, with portions of the belt (with which the buckle is in exemplary way organized) shown fragmentarily;

Fig. II is a view showing the buckle in open position, partly in elevation and partly in transverse section, on the plane II--II of Fig. I.

Fig. III is a view of the closed buckle in longitudinal section.

Fig. IV is a fragmentary sectional view, showing the structur to larger scale, on the same plane of section as Fig. II, and illustrating in detail a latch for securing the buckle in closed position;

Fig. V is a fragmentary view, showing on the scale of Fig. IV the latch-carrying member of the buckle in plan from above.

And Fig. VI is a view of the latch in front elevation.

The buckle of the invention consists essentially in two members adapted to receive and secure between them the end of a strap or belt. The buckle structure will ordinarily be fastened to the particular part of the wearing apparel (or other thing) to which it is desired to secure the end of a strap or belt, and in this case I show the buckle fastened to one end of a belt in position to receive and secure the opposite end of the belt.

The buckle consists in a basal member I and "I is provided with a slot-like channel 6 that,

opening through one end or edge of the member, extends to and opens through the opposite end or edge. This channel is adapted to receive the otherwise free end b of th belt, and, as presently will appear, the cap 2 is adapted to secure such end of the belt in the channel.

The body of the member I, that is, the body portion that forms the upper or outer wall of the belt-receiving channel 6, includes a window I member is movable on the hinge 3 between open position (Fig. II) and closed position (Fig. III). In open position the cap is removed from the window I and the end I) of the belt may be inserted in and adjusted axially of the channel; and in closed position the cap is, by virtue of structural features presently to be described, effective to clamp such end of the belt against the body portion of the member I that forms "the floor or inner wall of the channel. The end b of the belt, extended a greater or less interval through the channel 6, is thus secured in desired position relatively to the end a of the belt, to which the buckle is anchored.

The means for securing the cap in closed position consist in this case in a latch I0 carried by the cap and a shoulder 8 formed in the body of the member I, immediately adjacent to the periphery of the window I. The latch consists in a leaf of spring steel, or other suitable material, applied to and extending peripherally of the body of the cap, as shown in Fig. V; the leaf spring is anchored at one end, Illa, to the side or edge of the cap, and at opposite end is provided with a latch element I 0b and a tongue I00. More particularly, the body of the cap is provided with a peripheral groove 20 and a peripheral notch 2| opening from such groove outward through the top of the cap, and in such groove the latch structure is adapted to be nested, with the tongue I00 of the latch positioned in and extending from the notch, as shown in Figs. I and IV. It will be understood that, when the cap is in open position, only the anchored end of the latch lies in the groove 20, the distal end of the latch tending, under the inherent resilience of the latch body, to extend outward from the periphery of the cap, as shown in Fig. V. When the cap is in closed position, the latch is nested in the groove, with th latch element IIIb engaged beneath the shoulder 8 on the buckle member I, as shown in Fig. IV. The cap is thus secured in such closed position, with the end of the tongue I00 accessible to the user. In order to release the cap, the tongue We is pressed in the direction of the arrow in Fig. IV, with the consequence and efifect that the latch is moved into the groove 20, and the latch element I0b disengaged from the shoulder 8.

The invention is particularly centered in the structural features of the cap, by virtue of which an adequately effective frictional clamping of the belt is gained in my buckle. Specifically, I have discovered that the cap should be provided with,

adapted to receive the cap member 2; which cap or adapted to cooperate with, a relatively thick body or cushion of highly compressible, frictional material that immediately engage the surface of the belt end to be secured. Such body or cushion of highly elastic material is peripherally reinforced or supported. I have found that a sponge rubber, or foam rubber, is a particularly effective material of which to form such belt-engaging cushion, such rubber having a high coefficient of friction, and including in its body a myriad of small air pocket that operate with suction effect upon the surface of the belt.

As shown in the drawing, the body of the cap 2 is of shallow cup shape, and the belt-engaging cushion or body II is secured in the cup, say with cement or by vulcanizing. The compressible body II is much deeper than the cup-shaped recess in the cap; preferably the exposed portion of the cushion body is of semi-spherical shape, rising or extending from the side wall or rim 2a of the cap to a region of maximum depth on the central or normal axis of the cap. When the cap is closed, the elastic body of the clamping cushion is compressed, as shown in Figs. III and 'IV, and air is pressed from the air pockets or cells in the rubber body of the cushion, so that the cushion engages the surface of the belt, not frictionally only, but with suction effect as well; the relatively thick cushion-like body ll, normally exceeding in volume the recess in the buckle that receives it (of. Fig. II), is adapted to be compressed to a thin disk-like friction element, to a disk of substantially the same volume as said recess (cf. Fig. III). The high yieldability and relatively great volumetric compression of the clamping body ll advantageously permits the cushion minutely to shape itself to the surface of the engaged end of the belt. It will be noted that the compressed clamping body or cushion H is almost entirely confined within the body of the cap, and that the side wall 2a of the cap forms the desired peripheral reinforcement or support for the clamping cushion against such stresses as tend to pull the end of the belt from secure position in the buckle.

In refinement, a gasket l2 of such frictional material as sheet rubber, cork, or the like, is provided on the floor or inner wall of the beltreceiving channel 6. Such gasket-cooperates with the clamping cushion II in securing the, endof the belt in the buckle. The efficiency of the gasket is augmented by the provision. thereinof one or more orifices or vacuum pockets 1-3.

A buckle of the structure described has been demonstrated to be very effective in service, even when used with patent leather belts, whose surfaces are smooth andv glossy. No perforations need be provided in the belt that is used with my buckle, and it is noteworthy that in service the buckle does not scratch or otherwise disfigure the belt.

While the body members I and 2 of the buckle may be formed of metal, I advantageously construct them of a plastic, a material such as urea formaldehyde, that may be readily shaped under heat and pressure in molds, and hardened to a bone-like consistency. It is important to note that the members I and 2 are of such form and structure as to permit them to be so constructed. It is further important to note that the two members I and 2 of the buckle, being constructed as illustrated and described, protect the hinge 3 from undue stress in service. That is to say, the cap 2 includes a portion that .nests in and engages the body of the member I (that is, the peripheral portion 2a of the cap 2 engages the rim of the window I in member I), in'such manner as to protect the hinge 3 from the effects of tension upon the belt in servicea tension that tends to pull the clamped end of the belt from the closed buckle.

Within the terms .and intent of the appended claimvarious modifications of the structure described are permissible.

I claim as my invention:

A belt buckle comprising in structure two clamping members formed of molded plastic, hinged together, and provided with means for securing the members closed in clamped position on the body of a belt, one of said clamping members carrying an elastic belt-securing member which, when the buckle is closed, is clamped against the body of the belt, the body of one of said molded buckle members including a recess and the body of the other of said molded members being formed complementary to said recess, with the effect that when the buckle is closed, with the elastic member compressed in, engagement with the belt, saidtwo body members of the buckle are snugly nested one within the other, whereby the hinged union of said two buckle members is protected from stress caused by tension applied to the engaged belt in service.

EINAR THORESEN. 

